Outlaw Audio helped pioneer the direct web-to-consumer channel for audio/video electronics and is among the most successful in that small but growing arena. Its latest introductions include an aggressively priced preamp/processor and compact 7-channel power amp that ask the question: Is an A/V receiver your only sensible choice with less than a couple grand in hand?
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What We Think
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| Simplicity, power, and value in a combo that's tough to beat if you demand separates on a receiver budget. |
The 970 and Model 7075 power amp (7 x 75 watts) are simply but solidly made and finished in no-nonsense basic black. I found the 970 very attractive and intelligently laid out, although its blue-on-black LED display is effectively low-contrast and thus impossible to read from any distance. Fortunately, there are clear, simple, text-based onscreen menus conveying the same info; unfortunately, these aren't carried by the preamp's DVI output and can't be viewed on its component-video output when it's feeding a video source signal above 480i — which in my system (and probably yours) is all the time.
SETUP I dropped the Outlaw pairing into my system, using DVI-HDMI cabling to connect my upscaling DVD player to the Outlaw preamp and the pre/pro to the HDMI input on my 50-inch Samsung DLP. The amp features multi-way binding posts and an RCA input jack for each of its seven channels. The only other item is a mini-jack for a trigger input. I routed this to its twin on the Model 970, and voilà! — the two components powered and standby'd in tandem.
MUSIC PERFORMANCE Outlaw dispensed with any "extra" surround modes for the Model 970, contenting itself with Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo:6 for 6.1- or 7.1-channel from stereo and matrix-encoded surround sources and Dolby and DTS flavors of 5.1-, 6.1- and 7.1-channel decoding. (What? No "Stadium" mode? No "Disco"!?) All of these worked as expected and delivered first-class sound, at least while playing first-class sources.
One of the Outlaw Audio Model 970's more unusual features is its 6-channel analog input, which offers three bass-management choices, selected via a mini-toggle switch on the back: Digital, HP/LP, and Bypass. The last is self-explanatory (no management), while the first applies whatever crossover and "speaker-size" choices are made via the 970's setup menus (at the sacrifice of extended response above 22 kHz, since the digital crossovers limit this). In the middle is an unusual audiophile option: It applies a simple, fixed, analog high- and low-pass crossover to the analog multichannel input at a frequency of 80 Hz (actually closer to 110 Hz on my test bench).
The distinction between using the analog filter and simply running your multichannel source full-range in the Bypass mode is subtle, but perceptible if you have smaller, less bass-capable front speakers. You'll hear better weight to the midbass and a hard-to-define improvement in bass definition, or "speed" (an oxymoron, I know), or spatiality — or something. Whatever the case, it works well. Jimmy Witherspoon's The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing But the Blues, a clean, very live-sounding DVD-Audio recording, sounded impressively present and transparent, with great spatial and timbral detail of both the band and Witherspoon's big 'n' tall-sized voice, all arrayed realistically across the stage. While my own amp (at precisely twice the spec'd power) could push things to genuinely first-table club levels (loud!) with no hint of strain, the Outlaw came up just perceptibly short (perhaps 2 dB) before a faint sheen of effort crept into the sound. But it was otherwise indistinguishable.
MOVIE PERFORMANCE Though the 7-channel Outlaw Audio Model 7075 is rated at "only" 75 watts per, I found little if any audible distinction between it and several fine 100+ watt A/V receivers I've auditioned recently. I cued up a handful of my favorite audio-stress movie scenes and encountered no stumbles or artifacts in Dolby Digital or DTS playback.
But film sound is inherently different, because when things get really loud in several channels simultaneously, it's almost always from elements that tend to mask distortion: explosions, crashes, thunderstorms, and the like. So on cinema material, I had a much harder time hearing any differences between the $699 Outlaw and my everyday power amp, which sells for roughly three times as much. There was little or no difference quantity-wise — it played about as loudly — and the sound quality was consistently fine. Ocean's Twelve is a hopeless muddle, with limited soundtrack challenges but an occasionally intriguing score (I particularly loved the "Vietnamese banjo"). It sounded uniformly clean, dynamic, and intelligible at any volume I might consider in my fair-sized studio theater.
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The Short Form
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| $1,398 / Model 970: 6 x 17.3 x 15.5 IN; 20 LBS / Model 7075: 4 x 17.3 x 15.5 IN; 41 LBS / outlawaudio.com / 866-688-5297 |
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Plus
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| •Solid, real-world power •Simple, usable remote •Analog bass management for multichannel input |
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Minus
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| •Requires adapters for HDMI sources and displays •No onscreen menu from DVI output or component out (with non-480i sources selected) •Hard-to-read front display  |
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Key Features
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| Model 970 •7.1 channel preamp/processor •2 DVI inputs, 1 DVI output •3 HD-capable component video inputs •Converts composite or S-video to component •192-kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters •FM tuner with 30 station presets •Upgradeable software via RS-232 connection •Price $699 Model 7075 •Rated 7 x 75 watts all channels driven into 8 ohms; 7 x 115 watts into 4 ohms •Price $699 |
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Test Bench
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| The Outlaw duo delivered strong performance in most regards, with 5- and 6-channel power equal to or better than many A/V receivers I've tested that were spec'd at 100 to 140 watts per channel. Digital-to-analog linearity and noise levels were also excellent. Full lab results |
The 970's operations were similarly no-nonsense. Its onscreen menu structure is self-evident and simple to use, and the relative paucity of features and extras helps a lot. As already mentioned, the menus don't appear from the DVI output at all or from the component-video output if the active source is higher than 480i resolution. That earns a demerit. But on balance, I found the 970 annoyance-free, and I particularly valued its remote's easy-access channel-trim controls for on-the-fly level adjustments.
BOTTOM LINE Performance-wise, there's no question: the Outlaw Audio 970/7075 pairing does the job, with high quality and enough power for most speakers in most rooms. If you have low-sensitivity speakers or a larger-than-average room and harbor real, cinema-reference-level ambitions, you might want to consider a higher-power amp from Outlaw or another manufacturer.
But is this tandem a better choice than $1,400 worth of A/V receiver? That's a tougher issue. Performance-wise, though Outlaw's duo is clearly better than some $1,000-plus receivers, several others I've recently encountered are definitely in the same class. Most will deliver many more features and surround modes, and some of those features — HDMI video-upconversion; multiroom A/V abilities; lifelike concert-hall simulations — might just tip your personal balance. On the other hand, the Model 970/7075 combo offers the undeniable cachet of "separates" and the upgrade flexibility that goes with them.
Either way, if you prefer your home theater's central control to be simpler, less flashy, less loaded, and less overwhelming than the typical flagship receiver or separates — and less expensive, too — with little sacrifice in performance, you shouldn't be sorry to find yourself initiated into the Outlaw way of life.
Full Lab Results
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